Top 10 Takeaways from Week 2 of the 2024 NFL Regular Season

1. The Kansas City Chiefs find ways to win games

The Kansas City Chiefs have become much like Tom Brady’s New England Patriots of old: an unstoppable winner that keeps winning, sometimes in inexplicable ways. Sunday marked another crucial win: Kansas City and Cincinnati were opponents in AFC title games during 2021-22; had Joe Burrow not sustained an injury last season they may have played in three straight AFC Championship games, it’s possible their 26-25 win could determine the location of a playoff game.

At such a critical juncture, the Chiefs did not doubt as to their chances in this heavyweight fight; everything came together differently than anticipated at its conclusion.

The flag for unsportsmanlike conduct against Ja’Marr Chase turned what would’ve been third-and-7 into third-and-22 in the fourth quarter – short-circuiting a drive that resulted in a Bengals field goal instead of a touchdown. And there was Daijahn Anthony’s pass interference penalty that moved K.C. forward on a last-ditch fourth-and-16 play to help secure victory for K.C.

In big spots, the Chiefs are unlike other teams; instead of fearing that something bad might happen when pressure builds up, it is now expected that good things will happen.

On Sunday at Arrowhead, they got precisely that.

2. The Baltimore Ravens have issues

The Ravens have suffered more than just Macdonald’s departure from the defense this offseason. Defensive assistants Anthony Weaver (now with the Miami Dolphins and Dennard Wilson (Tennessee Titans DC) both left for other jobs; key defensive playmakers Patrick Queen and Jadeveon Clowney left too; growth pains have set in under first-year coordinator Zach Orr, promoted from inside linebackers coach. Davante Adams caught nine passes for 110 yards with a touchdown catch; tight end Brock Bowers caught nine catches for 98 yards against them on Sunday.

Defense shouldn’t bear all of the blame for this loss; rather, offense struggled on third downs, only managing three conversions out of eleven attempts, committed 11 penalties for 109 yards and saw Justin Tucker miss an early field goal attempt. Baltimore must make some necessary adjustments quickly as next week they face Dallas on the road and then the Buffalo Bills – their swason could quickly spiral out of control without proper management.

3. Mike McDaniel and the Miami Dolphins are in trouble

Mike McDaniel is a weird dude, which was once cute, and that weirdness is now wearing thin in Miami. McDaniel’s Quarterback took another concussion on Thursday night and will be out for a while, with many hoping he will retire because of repeated concussion issues. I highly doubt Tua will retire, but either way, the Dolphins were getting their butts kicked before Tua got hurt, and this team looks to be dangerously close to falling out of contention.

Mike McDaniel Funniest Moments

4. Is the Steelers Defense this good?

The Steelers defense has allowed only 16 points through two weeks this season – their lowest total since 2007. The Steelers defense has been legit, but the two teams they beat are not exactly world beaters on offense. We will get a more definitive answer this week when the Los Angeles Chargers come to town. If the Steelers move to 3-0 then things change and they will become a serious playoff contender.

5. The Colts picked the wrong QB

Anthony Richardson led the Colts in Week 2, rushing with six carries for 56 yards. Still, Sunday, they seemed disinterested in using him on designed runs despite Packer’s coverages that prevented him from throwing downfield. Richardson had just one designed run called for him after multiple were called during Week 1.

If you haven’t noticed yet, needing to get offensive production in the NFL by designing runs for your quarterback means you don’t have a quarterback. The Colts need to clean house in the front office because this team’s moves over the last five years have been perplexing at best. The worst move was to draft Anthony Richardson and think he should be your future franchise quarterback because he is not.

6. The Saints offense is on a record pace

The Saints made clear their new offense is no fluke after defeating both the Panthers and Cowboys with ease, setting records with 16 straight scoring possessions in both victories. Alvin Kamara posted his second career four-touchdown performance while looking unstoppable until Derek Carr made an interception late in the fourth quarter.

Master performance. Carr and his offense gave an exceptional display against the Dallas Cowboys. Nothing stood in their way from setting an aggressive pace early to using Rashid Shaheed and Kamara as speedy players while employing multiple blockers to protect Carr’s playmaking abilities while providing error-free performances.

Eye-popping advanced stat: 91 points. The Saints significantly changed this offseason by shifting away from Sean Payton’s offense that helped win them a Super Bowl championship back in 2009. The Defense has looked good as well, are the Saints a Super Bowl contender?

7. It’s time for Andy Dalton in Carolina

Carolina has more issues than Bryce Young, but slow starts have become their Achilles Heel. Young has played his part; he completed 8-of-10 passes for 22 yards and an interception in the opening half on Sunday while going 6-for-12 for 50 yards with an interception last week. Andy Dalton may give the Panthers more success; when asked recently by Canales about changing, Canales replied, ”The best experience you can gain is by being on the field living it.’ Hoe long will the head coach continue to let his young signal-caller live the experience on the field.

8. The Cardinals are for real

Look at Arizona, for instance. Add what they accomplished against Buffalo in Week 1, combined with their performance Sunday against the Rams when they scored 41 points and 489 yards while boasting 100-yard receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. and 100-yard rusher James Conner in their two games to date, and it would appear they can put up points quickly. They’re currently averaging 34.5 points per game across both of their matches and 374 total yards so far this season.

“Rookie Breakout.” Arizona Cardinals rookie wide receiver Chris Ivory used an explosive performance in his NFL debut with one catch and no touchdowns to build on it by scoring 130 yards and two touchdowns during the opening quarter of his first home game, with both touchdowns showing his versatility, such as one where he outran a defensive back for an outrunning touchdown and then a diving one.

Kyler Murray has been on fire and this offense looks to be for real.

9. Stick a fork in the Jags; they are done.

After starting their season 0-2, they still have road games against Buffalo on Monday and Houston the following week – as only one team ever made the playoffs after beginning with a 0-4 start: the 1992 San Diego Chargers. However, this team must overcome some major issues, beginning with their missing offensive performance for nearly three quarters against Cleveland. Owner Shad Khan said before this season that now was the time to win, and missing playoffs creates potential changes that need to occur immediately.

10. Geno Smith is clutch

Are we witnessing one of the NFL’s clutch quarterbacks in Geno Smith? He regularly made clutch plays last season, including throwing seven go-ahead touchdown passes either in the fourth quarter. On Sunday, he led field goal drives that tied it late and led them all the way through to win it over in overtime! In total he completed 33-of-44 throws for 327 yards with an onside kick score and no turnovers, all while suffering five drops and no assistance from his run game which only produced 46 yards!